The invention relates to a brake pad for a disc brake and, in particular, to a vehicle brake pad having a pad carrier plate which is configured as a cast part and has elevated, integrally formed positively locking parts which are enclosed by a friction lining in order to hold the friction lining.
In addition to a brake disc, disc brakes for vehicles, in particular for commercial vehicles, also include two brake pads which, if required, that is to say in the event of a braking operation, can be pressed against the friction faces of a brake disc.
Here, each brake pad consists of a pad carrier plate and a friction lining which is fastened on the pad carrier plate and, in the use position, bears frictionally against the associated friction face of the brake disc.
The connection of the friction lining to the pad carrier plate is given special significance, since high loads occur which result from operational jolts and frictional heat which is produced during braking.
In order to produce a correspondingly fixed connection, which can absorb flexural and shear loads occurring in addition to the abovementioned jolt and heat loading, it is known to integrally form positively locking mechanisms on a basic body of the pad carrier plate in the form of raised elevations. These elevations are configured with a round or angular cross-section, or are configured to be pimple-shaped, and are enclosed by the applied friction lining.
In the overlap region of the friction lining, adjacent to the positively locking parts, that is to say on that side of the basic body of the pad carrier plate which faces the friction lining, an identifier, for example what is known as a code number, is provided in the brake pad. Via the identifier, the pad carrier plate can be identified before the friction lining is applied.
The identifier, in the form of characters, such as letters or the like, and/or digits, is cast as a depression into the pad carrier plate.
To this extent, there is no positively locking connection between the friction lining and the pad carrier plate in this region, in a comparable manner to the connection by way of the positively locking parts.
In order to attach the friction lining to the pad carrier plate even in the region which is defined by the identifier, an adhesive bond is provided which, however, cannot be loaded to such an extent as a positively locking connection.
The adhesion capability of the adhesive bond is reduced, in particular, by the frictional heat produced during braking, with the result that detachment of the friction lining can occur permanently, with a correspondingly higher loading of the positively locking mechanism and/or the positively locking connections.
An optimization of the service life of a brake lining of this type is therefore inherently not possible.
The invention is based on the object of developing a brake pad such that an improved connection between the friction lining and the pad carrier plate is achieved with low structural and production technology outlay and, as a beneficial consequence, the service life of the friction lining is improved.
This and other objects are achieved by a brake pad having a pad carrier plate which is configured as a cast part and has elevated, integrally formed positively locking parts which are enclosed by a friction lining in order to hold the friction lining. Adjacent to the positively locking parts, an identifier in the form of a row of characters and/or digits is provided, which identifier is covered by the friction lining. The characters and/or digits have a raised configuration.
A substantially improved, i.e., better fixed connection of the friction lining on the pad carrier plate is achieved by the raised configuration of the characters and/or digits; this relates not only to the region which is defined by the identifier, but rather to the entire connection, as it were, as a result of the reduced loading of the remaining positively locking parts.
A partial reduction in adhesion, in particular as a result of the action of heat, is ruled out in practice, which results in an improvement in the service life, with the resulting cost advantages.
The elevated height of the characters and/or digits of the identifier is preferably equal to the height of the positively locking parts, with the result that the friction material can be supported to the same extent on the positively locking parts and on the identifier, whereby a uniform attachment of the friction lining is achieved over the entire pad carrier plate.
Otherwise, the profiling of the individual characters and/or digits can be selected to be different, that is to say, for example, with undercuts, with depressions in the attachment region to the basic body or by an oblique or perpendicular orientation of the bounding walls, the characteristics of the identifier, that is to say its ability to be identified, not being impaired.
Moreover, it is to be emphasized as particularly advantageous that this improvement of the brake pad can be realized in a virtually cost-neutral way.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one or more preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.